From Obese to Extremely Fit

Randall weighed 270 pounds when he decided to get in shape. One and a half years later he was extremely fit and participating in an Ironman competition. 
Thanks much for sharing this!


Hi Isadora!

I made this video just for my friends, family, and relatives as a reminder that it's never too late and anything no matter how difficult is possible if you believe. I'd like to share it hoping it would help other people believe in themselves as well and lead towards a healthier and happier lifestyle.

For me, I can still remember like it was yesterday 270 lbs I attempted to run not even 1/4 of a mile I was winded down like I was going to have a heart attack and every car was stopping asking if I needed a ride. A year and a half year later I was treading water in Ironman Cozumel about to embark on a 140.6 mile journey, smiling and thinking to myself how I enjoyed everything along the way.

One Very Successful Year of Weight Loss

 Megan Marquez and her husband lost a combined 174 pounds in one year. The first photo here was taken at Christmas in 2010 and the lower photo is from Christmas 2011. Thanks much for sending in your story!

Good Morning,

My name is Megan Marquez.  I have been morbidly obese since I was a teenager (I’m 36 now).  My husband and I have been married for 16 years.  We have two amazing, young children.  We decided to finally take control of our weight for our children’s sake and for our own health.  We did not use any pills, tricks, concoctions or fads.  For the first time in our adult lives, we simply did what every doctor tells their patients to do; maintain a better diet and get regular exercise.

We started slowly, cutting out junk food completely and taking short walks.  We both used an app on our phones to log our food intake every day.  As the weight started coming off, we increased our exercise.  I now use an elliptical machine every evening for 30 minutes.  I couldn’t have done 2 minutes in 2010. 

It has been an unbelievable year of weight loss and personal growth.  Combined, my husband and I lost about 174 pounds in 2011.  We are continuing our new lifestyle into 2012.  We both feel and look substantially better.  We had the greatest support of our families and co-workers.  My weight loss caused two co-workers to also improve their diets.  For the first time in my adult life, I am able to shop at non-plus size stores.  Our young children are very proud of us.  What a great feeling!

The reason I am contacting you is that I truly believe changing your life is in your own hands with real support.  I promise, if we can do it, anyone can.   

Electric Bikes and Weight Loss Success

Traci Brown is a coach with Optibike. This pricey electric bike (costing about $10,000), "the Ferrari of electric bikes", is hand-made in Boulder, Colorado. Traci sent in the following story about one of her clients. 

Bob Brewer was a regular guy. He spent his life building a successful family business. The money was good and all the perks that came with it were even better. Then at 53 he found himself overweight. Way overweight. And diabetic. He was 5’7” and 270lbs. The doctor called him ‘morbidly obese’.That’s when the fear set in.

A young death just wasn’t an option for Bob.  So what’s a guy to do?  A little exercise for a few days wasn’t going to fix the problem.  An entire lifestyle shift was in order.  But it sounded so hard.

That’s when Bob joined the Optibike weight loss challenge with coach Traci Brown.  It’s a year long coached lifestyle and fitness program.  Community is created around the enthusiasm for weight loss and cycling.  And Optibikes are electric. They give you a push when you need it. And you still get a great workout.

Bob found the fun in community and started riding his bike every day.  He followed the program:  Riding every day with a specific plan, walking if he couldn’t ride,  eating lower carbs, less meat and more fish,  cutting out soft drinks and alcohol.  As a matter of fact, Bob has only had water to drink for a year.

What about the results?  Bob’s lost 87lbs and he’s still going.  He’s exercising every day, riding his Optibike or walking, and totally off all medications.  He’s excited about life and he still hasn’t had anything to drink but water.  And all this happened because he decided to save his own life with the Optibike Weight Loss Challenge.

Losing 80 Pounds in Eight Months

Maria weighed 210 pounds eight months ago. She is 5'4" tall. A Zumba class inspired her to start her weight loss journey and now she feels fantastic at 128 pounds. Thanks much for sending in your story!

Hi, my name is Maria.  I am 40 years old and I am a Physical Therapist Assistant. I live in Wilkes Barre, PA. My before weight was 210 pounds and my after weight is 128 pounds, I am 5'4". 


In April of 2011 my friend asked me to go try out a Zumba class which I was reluctant to do but after she persuaded me to go I immediately fell in love with it, I was going 3 days of week. 


Towards the end of April the instructor opened her own studio and started offering more classes, at that time I decided that was it, I was sick of my weight and wanted to lose full force, I went on my own diet with an app on my phone counting calories(1200 calories a day). 


Jessica Sands, the owner of the studio S.W.E.A.T. Fitness Studio, helped me in every sense of my weight journey answering questions I had on food decisions, what classes to take, etc. I really owe it all to her for being my inspiration in this past 8 months, even though she will say it was all me. I am totally in love with eating right and exercising all the time, I take as many classes as I can, sometimes 1-3 classes a day, every day of the week. So after 8 months of losing 72 pounds and dropping from a size 16 to a size 2, meeting the most amazing people ever, and developing friendships I feel will last a lifetime, I am the happiest ever in my life. 


I finally feel good about the way I look and feel. My husband, Jim, of 18 years and my children, Patrick, 17, and Katie, 13, are very supportive in my new way of life, and I wouldn't be able to do any of this without them either. I am very thankful every day that Jessica took the courage and many pitfalls, even surviving through a flood, to keep her studio open to give me a second home to go to every day to achieve my goal. I LOVE S.W.E.A.T. FITNESS STUDIO, ALL THE INSTRUCTORS, AND ALL THE FRIENDS I HAVE MADE ALONG THE WAY!!!!

Reduce Cravings with Meditation

Here's a really great 5 minute video instruction on how to meditate for a minute in your day.

Meditation has been proven to reduce stress and cravings. All you need is one minute to feel better. Check it out!

From Obese to Ultra Fit

Drew used to be big and tall. He is 6'4" and weighed 340 pounds not too long ago. One day he decided to get super fit and choose a healthy lifestyle. He never went on a diet, just started making different eating choices and doing a ton of running, starting with baby steps and stepping it up to the point where he is now doing 'ultramarathons'. See his inspiring story at Running Runners.

A Very Inspirational Weight Loss Video

Wow! check out this wonderful video of a man who has lost 270 pounds. It's so optimistic and inspirational.




Bryan Ganey, age 39, also has a very helpful blog (My Lifestyle Change) about his weight loss journey. Check it out for some great motivation.

Kale Chips: A Super Nutritional Low Calorie Snack

Here's a fast and easy recipe for a really tasty and super nutritious snack. These kale chips are made with just three ingredients (kale, olive oil and nutritional yeast). (PS I know the picture I took looks awful, and you can't see that they are crunchy and dry..)

My nephew told me about this recipe. He's a vegetarian and it's hard for him to get enough B vitamins. One super food that contains tons of these vitamins is nutritional yeast.

Nutritional yeast (amazon link)
contains 18 amino acids (forming the complete protein) and 15 minerals. Being rich in the B-complex vitamins, it is vital in many ways and particularly good for stress reduction. The B-complex vitamins help make nutritional yeast such a valuable supplement, especially to the vegetarian. One element of yeast is the trace mineral chromium, also known as the Glucose Tolerance Factor (GTF). This is necessary to regulate blood sugar and is important for diabetics and people with a tendency toward low blood sugar.

Kale is one of the world's healthiest vegetables. (The other two hugely nutritious greens are swiss chard and collard greens.)

So this recipe combines two of the world's healthiest foods and it's really yummy. It does taste a bit like thin crisp chips. The nutritional yeast has a nice nutty flavor. Hope you will give it a try.

Kale Chips Recipe:

Ingredients:

- a bunch of raw kale (tear into bite size pieces)
- nutritional yeast
- olive oil

Place the kale on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil and then sprinkle a good amount of nutritional yeast over it. Bake it in the oven for about 15 minutes at 375 degrees. And voila!
You have kale chips.

If anyone would like to figure out the calorie count, please let me know! I figure it is about 200 calories at most for a heaping bowl full.

Best Way to Lose Weight - Poll

What is the key habit keeping me from losing weight?

Is it eating too many sweet foods? Or too many fatty foods? Is it mainly a matter of not exercising enough? Or is it too much soda/pop or alcohol?

It's been a few years since I did a poll. It would be interesting to see which habit people feel is the most responsible for their weight gain.

Please vote on your best habit breaker to lose weight. See it on the sidebar to the right.

The poll starts today January 1st and closes in six days. See how other people have voted so far.

And if you can contribute any help (encouragement, tips, advice), please leave your comment below.

Also, if anyone has a success story with before and after pics of your weight loss and would like it posted here, please let me know!

33 Real People Tell Their Weight Loss Story

This website is mainly focused on true weight loss stories by real people who lose weight the natural way - via a change in diet or exercise.

You can scroll down through the posts and at least half of them deal with life stories (while the other half are related to tips about weight loss).

But here's a faster way to get to the latest 33 stories posted on this blog.